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Upcoming Events
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02/03: School Board Meeting
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02/09-02/20: PSSA Writing Assessment
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02/12: Penn Hebron "Are You Smarter Than Our 4th/5th Graders?"
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02/13: Professional Day, No Students
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02/13: Cabaret, Chocolate, and Roses
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02/16: President's Day, No School
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02/21: Linton Odyssey of the Mind Spontaneous Fun Day
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02/21: Penn Hebron Library Day
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02/27: PTA Volleyball Game
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02/28: NJROTC Drill Meet
To view additional events, click here. |
PTA Volleyball Game-Mark Your Calendar The Penn Hills PTA Scholarship Committee is once again sponsoring a Districtwide volleyball tournament on February 27th in the Senior High School gymnasium. Doors open at 6:00 p.m., with games beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Admission is $2.00 for adults and $1.00 for students. Food and refreshments will be sold and a Chinese Auction held. All proceeds from the event benefit the PTA Council Scholarship Fund.
Scholarships will be awarded to students at the annual Scholarship Awards Night on April 28, 2009. |
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Drill Meet Scheduled
The 1st Annual Penn Hills NJROTC Big Red Invitational Drill Meet will be held on Saturday, February 28th, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Linton Middle School. The event will kick off with an all-you-can-eat pancake/sausage breakfast from 7 to 10 a.m. Cost for the breakfast is $5 per person.
Breakfast will be followed by the Commander's Call, Personal Inspections, Armed IDR, 1st Year IDR, 1st Year Color Guard, Unarmed IDR, Armed Exhibition, Advanced Color Guard, Unarmed Exhibition, Knockout Drill, and Awards Ceremony.
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Save the Date - May 8th - PHAME Gala!
 Presenting PHAME: "Investing in Our Kids" at the Churchill Country Club. . . . Details to follow when available.
PHAME - Penn Hills Arts and Music Education Fund exists to provide support and funding for a comprehensive education in Music, Theater, Dance, and the Visual Arts for Penn Hills School District students. The mission of PHAME is to encourage and broaden support for the arts, both within the school district and the community, so our young people will be inspired and prepared for a lifetime of creativity and artistic expression, as well as fostering appreciation and support of all of the arts. |
For the latest on the Penn Hills School District, visit our website at www.phsd.k12.pa.us. |
Newsletter created by:
Teresita K. Kolenchak
Public Relations/Web Design Coordinator Penn Hills School District
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The Future of the District
 On January 13th, the public had an opportunity to see into the future of the Penn Hills School District as possible reconfiguration options were presented at a meeting of the Long-Term Planning Citizens Advisory Committee. At the meeting, representatives of the District's architectural firm presented a recommended option for the future configuration of the District which includes:
- Razing or building around the current Administration Building in order to build a brand-new high school on that site, housing Grades 9-12
- Renovating the current high school building and moving the middle school students there (Grades 5-8)
- Renovating the current middle school site and converting it to an elementary center, housing Pre-K through Grade 4 as well as District administration.
Although costs are considered very preliminary at this stage, a figure of approximately $137 million was given for the project, with an annual operating cost savings through closing several existing buildings of $8 to 10 million per year.
The architects will continue to refine the recommended option. It is estimated that a project of this magnitude would be completed within 4 years of design approval. To view the report given at the public meeting, click here. |
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Elementary BUG Awards
 January saw the distribution of BUG Awards to elementary students at Dible, Forbes, Washington, and Penn Hebron. Begun by the Kiwanis, the Bring Up Grades (BUG) program recognizes students who raise their grades to an acceptable level and then continue to either maintain or improve those grades from one grading period to the next. Students were given certificates, pencils, and buttons as part of the recognition. |
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Revised Policies On Agenda
At the February 3rd public meeting, the School Board will consider revisions to several District policies. Among these are Policy No. 122, Extracurricular Activities; Policy No. 218, Student Discipline; Policy No. 625, Procurement Cards; Policy No. 707, Use of School Facilities; Policy No. 810, Transportation; and Policy No. 816, Use of Video Surveillance Cameras. All policies, with the exception of Policy No. 810, will be on second reading for adoption in March. Policy No. 810 will be recommended for first and final reading in February. | |
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15th Annual Linton Science Fair Results
The weather was cold but that did not stop parents, students, and the public from visiting the exhibits at the 15th Annual Linton Science Fair on January 24th. There were 175 entries in the fair, which spans Grades 6 through 9. Winners received trophies, medals, and ribbons. Twenty top entries, which received trophies, and those who received special awards that included savings bonds now have the opportunity to move on to the Pittsburgh Regional Science and Engineer Fair in April. Jonathan Dumm ('08), who served as a judge in this year's competition, honored the school district last year by being 1 of 3 students (out of 1,200) chosen to go on to the international level. A complete list of winners is available on the District website.
6th Grade
- 1st Place: Justin Dumm, "All Shook Up to Make Light"
- 2nd Place: Joe Novak, "Petrified Wood"
- 3rd Place: Alyssa Innes, "Are There Any Fingerprints?"
- Most Creative: Joe Novak, "Petrified Wood"
- Best of Show, Junior Division: Jesse Hong, "Will The Length of a Nerf Dart Affect Its Accuracy and Velocity"
7th Grade
- 1st Place: Jodi Gula, "Show or Tell"
- 2nd Place: Anna Marie Kun, "Do You See What I See?"
- 3rd Place: Ryan Bunyaratapan, "Get Set, Shoot"
- Most Creative: Zeleena Kearney, "See Lion's Eye-Catching Objects"
8th Grade
- 1st Place: Peter Gula, "Crazy Catalysts"
- 2nd Place: Christian Donnelly, "An Extra Atom Makes All the Difference"
- 3rd Place: Suzi Nanthavang, "Wet Diapers
- Most Creative: Peter Gula, "Crazy Catalysts"
9th Grade
- 1st Place: Nikki Lennon, "Water Water Everywhere"
- 2nd Place: Lauren Trichtinger, "Burn Baby Burn"
- 3rd Place: Alexandra Newby, "How Thicx-atropic is Your Ketchup?"
- Most Creative: Kristen Kralik, "Project Penguin"
- Best of Show, Senior Divsion: Peter Mysels, "Brain Freeze"
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Featured Student - Kimberly Phillips
 Senior Kimberly Phillips is being recognized as not only an excellent student academically but, in the words of Senior High School Teacher Amy Johnson, "a huge humanitarian." Kim serves as the editor of the yearbook, Best Buddies president, and musical student director, areas where she is able to shine with impressive leadership qualities. As yearbook editor, Kim is in charge of a staff that consists of 70 students. Johnson said that, "Kimberly has never let the power of being editor of such a major school project go to her head." She added that the young leader "spends many long days and nights perfecting the yearbook and making sure each student and group is represented accordingly." Kim's work with Best Buddies has included creating projects and activities to help meet the special needs of these students, as well as increasing awareness of the group. In everything that has to do with Best Buddies, she demonstrates patience and caring. In addition, Kim serves as team manager for girls' volleyball and statistician for boys' volleyball. She is a member of the National Honor Society and a PEP student. |
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9th Annual MLK Event/Black History Month
 On January 19th, school and community members gathered at Linton Middle School for the annual celebration of Martin Luther King Day. Those in attendance had the opportunity to experience award-winning artwork and essays from students, with entries based on quotes of Dr. King. In addition, members of the Senior High School Choir provided music for the celebration.
The event offered a foreshadowing of both the inauguration of the country's first African-American president as well as Black History Month, which takes place during February. Black History Month was begun by Dr. Carter G. Woodson in 1926. It was then known as "Negro History Week," not becoming a month-long celebration until 1976. Dr. Woodson, a noted scholar, educator, and publisher who graduated from Harvard, initiated the event because of the lack of information on African-American contributions to standard history he had learned in school. As part of his efforts to bring to light the role African-Americans have played in the history of this country, Dr. Woodson founded both the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (now known as the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History) and the Journal of Negro History.
A general Internet search will lead to a great deal of information detailing African-American contributions to history, providing timelines, videos, and activities for young people. On the local level, February 16th will offer storyteller Greg Kenney presenting "The Life of Louis Armstrong" at the William E. Anderson Library. This Black History Month program begins at 6:30 p.m.
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School Board Recognition Month
 January is School Board Recognition Month, a time set aside to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of local school boards. Being an effective school board member is no easy task. In Penn Hills, recent changes and deliberations about the future of the District have made this job even more challenging. School board members need to be knowledgeable about complex educational and social issues and carry out initiatives and directives from both federal and state governments. To face the demands of governing our schools, they willingly give countless hours of personal time. They represent you, the public, and they take this responsibility seriously by attending lengthy meetings; broadening their knowledge at conferences and seminars; seeking out much-needed funding for projects from local and state officials; and representing the schools to business leaders, parents, and neighbors. January is an opportunity for everyone to say, "Thanks!" | |
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PDE Gifted Audit a Success
 Just prior to the holidays, the Pennsylvania Department of Education sent an auditor to observe the District's gifted program. Dr. Shirley Curl visited the District as a follow up to an earlier gifted compliance monitoring audit. The District passed that audit with flying colors and a finding of 100 percent compliance.
"I think it's really great what the kids are doing here," Dr. Curl remarked during her observation while watching a class interpreting the novel Animal Farm. She said she likes to see kids involved in learning and was pleased to see how engaged they were in the learning process. Kids taking charge of their learning, she added, is a real plus. The class demonstrated creativity and cooperation as students broke into small groups to illustrate ideas from the novel through skits and a final game-show-based contest.
Not only did Dr. Curl say she saw the way technology was infused into the curriculum, she observed involvement and self direction from students at all levels during her elementary and middle school visits. She also had kind words to say about the District as a whole, calling it very nice and welcoming. |
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Point of Sale System at Senior High School
 The Senior High School saw implementation of the point of sale system in January. This new system allows students to purchase meals on account using a biometric identification process. In this process, a student's finger is scanned and the image is converted into a series of numbers. These numbers are stored in a database, allowing the student to make purchases by scanning his/her finger. This system does not use stored fingerprints, and the numbers cannot be converted back into a fingerprint image that can be printed. At the start of the process, mailings were sent home to explain how the process works and what steps a parent/guardian would need to take to opt his/her child out of the scanning process. Next, the students were enrolled into the program, followed by a "dry run" with both students and staff. The system has already been successfully implemented at both Penn Hebron and Linton Middle School. The remaining elementary buildings will be enrolled this spring. For additional information on how biometrics works, click here. |
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Crime Prevention E-Mail Access
 The Penn Hills Police Department would like to provide the public with current information regarding criminal activity as it occurs in the Municipality of Penn Hills. Anyone interested in receiving this information should send his/her e-mail address and home address to Crimeprevention@PennHills.org. The public is also encouraged to forward any information they may have regarding criminal or suspicious activities in their neighborhoods. By working together, we can create a safe and prosperous community in which to raise a family and conduct a business. |
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Coming in February, meet new Senior High School Principal Darcie Gatti, get a first look at the school calendar for 2009-2010, and take a closer look at some of the improvements incorporated into the revamped District website. Also, the upcoming Linton Spring Musical, "Alice in Wonderland" will be profiled. All this and more in the next edition of Penn Hills Pride. | |
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